Since Nov 9th-

Left house (after charging the battery on the Forester, must have left some lights on) at 10:40. Stayed overnight at Camping World Mon and Tue, Nov 10 & 11. Dry camped with no sewer dump so made a side trip to rest area in Federal Way to dump. Coach and Forester wired, tow bars installed, sway bar installed and autobrake installed on on Forester.

Finally on the road, a.m. 11-12, Wed, down to Portland (heavy rain). Then I84 East down the Columbia River Scenic Hwy. Still rain but pretty drive nevertheless. Dry camped overnight at Boardman, OR, rest stop.

On 11-13, Thu, continued on down I84 thru Boise, ID. That town (city) has really mushroomed since I used to come down with the Nat''l Guard. Had two sales there since I retired from Nat'l Guard in '84 but really didn't get a feel for the growth as I went straight from the airport to motel. Anyway, overnight at Walmart parking lot, Mountain Home, Id.

Let me make an astute observation here. Finding places to stay and shop is not a problem. BUT you learn really quick that getting rid of the s**t from the waste tank is at the top of pyramid in a RV! Hasn't filled up yet but had a tanki blockage and that was a real crisis until I got it unplugged.

Out of Mountain Home, 11-14, Fri, and on down to Twin Falls and then South on Hwy 93 to Jackpot and then over night at truck stop in Wells, NV, intersection of I80 and Hwy 93.

Next day, 11-14, Sat, headed South again on what is called the Great Basin Scenic Byway. It is beautiful in its own way but is very isolated and desolate high desert; huge basins between mountain ranges. Stretches of highway 18 miles long without a curve! Check it out on Google Earth. Rolled into Caliente, CA, at dusk.

Stayed in a private campground in Caliente night of 11-14 and 15, Sat night and Sun night. Just needed a full day to kick back and do nothing. Very quiet and relaxing.

Mon, 11-17, finished the Great Basin Scenic Byway down to I15 and into Las Vegas at Riveria RV Park. Nothing great but quiet, economical and nice folks. Will leave here Dec 1 for Camp Pendleton, CA until Dec 30.

Observations in Las Vegas: Haven't driven around residential areas yet but commercial real estate is in big trouble. A lot of abandoned commercial contruction and vacancies. It appears that a huge project (dwarfs everything on the strip) just South of the Bellagio will go under as it is about 25% complete. We saw a lot of the depressed real estate as we took a drive down the Strip yesterday while Keelan was getting a bath at Petsmart.

Speaking of Keelan, he is an excellent traveler. Still the occasionally bark when startled while parked but all in all he is not a problem (other than the normal feeding and walking).

Bev is doing fine and enjoying her SKI trip! Still adjusting to buying groceries in small quantities but really amazed on how well you can live without two refrigirators and a huge pantry.

Dwight has found out that six hours of driving (200-240 miles) is about the max-then of course you add on the getting everything ready in the morning and set up for the night.

Lessons learned: Can't overemphasize the priorty of keeping the black waste tank emptied at every opportunity. There are lots of mechanical and electrical systems and we are still learning something new everyday. I did buy a Garmin 260W nuvi GPS navigation system. It is just awesome and, next to the toilet tank being emptied, has proven to be an extremely valuable asset-you can buy on for $248 online, not in stores, from walmart.com.
Free wifi is just that and you get what you pay for. A lot of places put in free (and even fee only) wifi but signals are weak and systems are often not well maintained. Will probably go for an aircard on the laptop for reliability, convenience and security (none of the free or fee wi fis are truly secure).
Well, you are now up to date. Will post again at end of stay here in LV or soon after arriving at Camp Pendleton. FYI our house phones, business and home numbers, or disconnected and we are strictly cell phones, 360-434-8888 or 360-981-4032. Business partner, Mike Lee, has the toll free number for Quitting Business, Inc. www.quittingbusiness.com now belongs to him and I am the Senior Counselor!

Cheers!
Dwight, D, Mac, Papa, Grandboppy, Grandpa, Beverly, Nana Bev, Grandma Bev, Grandma, etc. etc. etc. etc.